When you want to add wireless networking capability to your computer, you have two options: a PCI-e network adapter or a USB wireless solution. USB wireless adapters are small, portable, and cheap, but does that mean they’re better?

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each.

PCI-e Wireless Adapters: More Power, Less Flexibility

A PCI-e wireless network adapter, as you might expect, plugs into the PCI-e (PCI express) port in your computer. If you’re building your own PCHow To Build Your Own PCHow To Build Your Own PCIt's very gratifying to build your own PC; as well as intimidating. But the process itself is actually quite simple. We'll walk you through everything you need to know.Read More, taking apart the case and locating this port on your motherboard should be pretty easy.

Once you’ve installed it, though, the PCI-e wireless adapter is going to give you more networking power. They typically pack at least two antennas, each of which is going to boost your Wi-Fi signal reception. Some of them, like the Rosewill RNX-AC1900PCE (UK), even have three antennas, further increasing the card’s potential for high-speed communication.

Multiple antennas let a wireless card take advantage of multiple-input-multiple-ouput (MIMO) spatial multiplexing… which is quite a mouthful, and rather complicated.

What you need to know is that it can result in better signal strength and faster Wi-Fi transmission. (Though it isn’t guaranteed to do either.) And many wireless cards include Bluetooth capability, which is less common in USB Wi-Fi solutions.

So a PCI-e wireless adapter is likely going to get better reception. Why wouldn’t that always be the best choice?

First of all, because once you install it in your motherboard, it’s not easy to move it to another PC. You have to take apart both cases, being careful about static electricity, and and transfer it over.

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Some people also find that placing the antennas between your computer case and the wall (where the back of your case is often positioned) can severely limit the receptivity of the adapter. Even though the antennas are more powerful, putting metal in between them and the source of your Wi-Fi signal can degrade performance.

And it’s not a huge deal, but some people really don’t like the look of antennas sticking out of the back of their computer.

USB Wireless Adapters: Less Power for Convenience

A USB wireless network adapter is about as simple as it gets: you plug it into a USB port on your computer and it connects your device to a Wi-Fi network. (Well, you might need to download some drivers and things first, but you get the idea.)

And that’s the single biggest advantage of using a USB wireless adapter. It’s super easy to use, it only takes a few seconds to transfer it to a new computer, and you really can’t screw up the installation. The adapter itself doesn’t take up much space, and it’s easy to use on a desktop or a laptop, where as a PCI-e card will almost certainly be limited to a desktop.

Some USB adapters do come with a single external antenna, like the Anewkodi model pictured below. And while this isn’t much compared to the triple-antennaed PCI-e cards, it can definitely increase the receptivity of your adapter. Others have remotely wired antennas that allow you to move the antenna to an idea spot for Wi-Fi reception.

A USB adapter is best used when there’s a straight, clear line from the adapter itself to the wireless router. (That’s the best case for any wireless adapter, but it’s especially the case with USB.)

That said, some people do find that they get very good speeds with USB wireless adapters. It likely depends on the quality of the adapter and the locations of the router and computer. If you buy a high-quality adapter that’s capable of 802.11n or 802.11ac transmission and have a clear line between the adapter and the router, it’s quite possible that you’ll get very respectable Wi-Fi speeds.

One thing to note is that the bandwidth of USB ports used to be a limiting factor. With USB 3.0, however — which has become nearly universal — that’s no longer an issue.

PCI-e vs. USB Wireless Adapters: Which Is for You?

Now that you’ve seen a few of the pros and cons, you can make a better decision about which wireless solution will be better for you.

If you’re using a desktop, you don’t plan on moving the wireless card between different computer, and you can position the antennas well (preferably where the Wi-Fi signal doesn’t have to travel through the computer case), a PCI-e card will likely give you better performance.

While almost all PCI-e adapters are dual-band, not all USB adapters are. The TP-Link N300 (UK), for example, is 802.11n-capable and very affordable, but single-band. You’ll usually find dual-band capability prominently featured in the title, as you can see here:

If do decide to go with a network card, three antennas are going to give you more power than two. TP-Link’s AC1900 (UK), for example, has three antennas and is capable of 1,300 Mbps over 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi (your internet connection probably isn’t that fast):

Beyond dual-band capability and more antennas, your best bet is simply to look for a wireless solution from a reputable company that can handle the wireless standard of your router. If you have an AC routerEverything You Need To Know About AC RoutersEverything You Need To Know About AC RoutersWhile wireless standards lack a logical progression in terms of letters, the technology under the hood is notable, and with each new release we get one step closer to painless connectivity.Read More, for example, an AC-capable wireless network adapter will give you better speeds.

Your Wireless Networking Recommendations

Now that we’ve laid out the basics for you here, we want to hear about your experiences. Different setups with different cards, layouts, and combinations of gear will have different effects. Share your experience with us so we can all get better networking results!

Do you use a PCI-e or USB wireless network adapter? If you’ve tried both, which was faster? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Noah Ater

October 11, 2018 at 4:39 pm

I used a linksys WUSB6100M and at least two different intel m.2 2230 WiFi adapters (their dual band AC-3165 WiFi adapter in an old HP desktop and the slightly less powerful dual band AC 3160 in my MSI GE70-2QE Apache Pro laptop) and have noticed no difference in speed between all three. I have also tried 802.11n single band adapters made by Realtek and they suck really bad, stay away from them if you can. My current PC has a Qualcomm QCA9377 dual band adapter in it and I have noticed no difference in speed from that either, even though they’re all the same distance from my router.

USB all the way. I get solid connections at 866Mbps in a separate room from the router (~30') with excellent signal strength. Being able to significantly change the positioning is a huge advantage over pcie.